Finding Mr. Right 413 Online Dates Later

It took one woman 413 dates before finding her perfect match

by Mary Kate Frank

Photograph: Mary Adele

You’d think Trisha Ventker would have given up Internet dating after her first “match”—an attractive architect who turned out to be a woman posing as a man. Instead, Ventker, then a New York City elementary school teacher, persevered through hundreds more, encountering a conspiracy theorist, a foot fetishist and finally Mr. Right (date No. 413). By the end of her six-year quest, she’d not only met husband Tom (with her, above) but also self-published a memoir, Internet Dates from Hell, for which producer Paula Wagner (Mission: Impossible) optioned the film rights. “It was a wonderful premise, deeper than the superficial comedy,” says Wagner. “Trisha’s story gets at the heart of the technocentric world we’re living in.” Ventker’s advice for those still searching? “Women say, ‘I want the man of my dreams, and he has to be six foot four and live within 20 miles.’ Look at the big picture: Lower the height, raise the age, open it up, and you’ll have more ­options.”

Click here to meet a couple who fell in love playing Words with Friends.